A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §9A-5-1, §9A-5-2,
§9A-5-3, §9A-5-4, §9A-5-5 and §9A-5-6, all relating to
creation of a Traumatic Brain Injury Services Commission;
stating legislative findings; creating commission and members;
stating purpose and duties of members of commission; stating
how funded and requiring reporting; and providing effective
date of article.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new article, designated §9A-5-1, §9A-5-2, §9A-5-3, §9A-5-4, §9A-5-5 and §9A-5-6, all to read as follows:

ARTICLE 5. TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY SERVICES COMMISSION.

§9A-5-1. Legislative findings.

(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares:

(1) That the number of veterans returning to West Virginia is
increasing, and they are in need of assistance;

(2) That many programs are available to people, particularly
veterans to address traumatic brain injuries and related issues;
and

(3) It is in the best interest of the state to facilitate
these services to the veterans in need of them.

(a) The Traumatic Brain Injury Services Commission consists of
the following persons appointed by the Governor with the advice and
consent of the Senate, except for those persons holding specific
state offices:

(1) The Director of the Division of Veterans Affairs or
designee;

(2) A veteran with a traumatic brain injury or family member
of the veteran;

(4) A medical professional who is not a state employee and who
has experience with traumatic brain injury;

(5) The Adjutant General of the West Virginia National Guard
or designee;

(6) The West Virginia National Guard’s transition assistance
advisor, or designee;

(7) Three representatives of leading veterans organizations in
West Virginia;

(8) A representative of the Brain Injury Association of West
Virginia;

(9) The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human
Resources, or designee;

(10) The Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs and
Public Safety, or designee; and

(11) Two West Virginia citizens, at least one of whom is a
nonmilitary survivor of traumatic brain injury or a family member
of such a person.

(b) Term of members who do not hold specific state offices
serve staggered, four-year terms.

(c) All members are voting members except for the Secretary of
the Department of Health and Human Resources and the Secretary of
the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety or their
designees.

(d) The commission shall select its chairperson from among its
members who are not state employees.

§9A-5-3. Purpose.

The purpose of the commission is to assist military veterans
and other West Virginians with traumatic brain injuries to receive
services to help them regain as much quality of life and
productivity as possible.

§9A-5-4. Duties.

The duties and responsibilities of the commission are as
follows:

(1) The commission shall establish outreach efforts that would
connect veterans and others with traumatic brain injury services to
services available to them.

(2) The commission shall provide funding to the Division of
Veterans Affairs and community organizations to deliver services to
West Virginians with traumatic brain injuries.

(3) The commission shall determine the costs of establishing
a Medicaid waiver and a trust fund to provide services for
individuals with traumatic brain injuries.

(4)(A) The Department of Health and Human Resources shall be
required to provide data on costs and actuarial information
requested by the commission within seven days of receiving the
requests, or if the data cannot be provided within seven days, the
department must notify commission members in public letters.

(B) All costs of compiling data and responding to the
commission’s requests shall be borne by the Department of Health
and Human Services. However, the commission may not be limited to
data from the department in determining the costs of establishing
a Medicaid waiver and a trust fund to provide services for
individuals with traumatic brain injuries.

§9A-5-5. Funding and reporting.

Funding for the Traumatic Brain Injury Services Commission is
as follows:

(1) Upon approval of the Governor, who shall notify the
Speaker of the House of Delegates and the President of the Senate,
the Department of Health and Human Resources shall apply to the
federal government for a Medicaid waiver and establish a trust fund
to provide services for individuals with traumatic brain injuries.

(2) A gross receipts tax of one percent on all limited video
lottery terminals shall be used to fund the operations of the
commission to match federal funds from a Medicaid waiver or other
services and to establish a trust fund to provide services for
individuals with traumatic brain injuries.

(3) Current Medicaid funded programs and services for West
Virginians with traumatic brain injuries may not be supplemented by
any new or expanded services provided by this legislation.

(d) The Department of Health and Human Resources shall report
annually to the commission and to the Legislature on the status of
services for West Virginians with traumatic brain injuries.

§9A-5-6. Effective date.

This article shall become effective July 1, 2011.

NOTE: The purpose of this article is to create a new
commission for the service to veterans and others suffering from
traumatic brain injuries.